Huckleberries Best of the INorthwest — 9/15/06

Captured through a camera lens, morning rays peeking through a stand of trees near Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore., creates a rainbow bubble effect Thursday. (Andy Tullis, The Bulletin/AP)

Randy Stapilus premieres the top 10 legislative races in Idaho this year here .

1. Eric Devericks /Seattle Times illustrates the housing situation in Seattle here , but it easily could apply to booming communities in North Idaho, too. Meanwhile, cartoonist Paul Tong and the UI Argonaut let’s us know what they think of the recent special session on property taxes here .

2. A Olympia, Wash., merchant’s call to police Thursday did nothing to stop Jasun “Thor” Easley from standing on the sidewalk at rush hour with a sign encouraging passers-by to “smile if u masterbate” here .

3. New research by Washington State University scientists suggests that a single exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy can cause cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses for future generations here .

4. A “cougar” sighting that caused a lockdown at a Cheney, Wash., elementary school turned out to be nothing more than a house cat here .

5. About 300 Idaho Army Reserve soldiers depart this weekend for hazardous duty in Iraq, where they’ll spend the year clearing roadside bombs that have been responsible for hundreds of U.S. troop deaths and injuries here .

6. IMHO-NW: Joan Opyr /New West ( Mental illness in a Mason jar ), Brian Murphy /Idaho Statesman ( Test golfers, too ), Kalispell Daily Inter Lake ( Gov. Judge’s legacy is secure ), James Reavis /WSU Evergreen ( Immigration issues cross oceans, cultures ), and Frank McGovern /UI Argonaut ( The pendulum doth swing ).

Online Poll: A plurality of 34.6% of 1926 respondents to a Seattle PI poll say they tip waiters 15% and 31.1% say they tip 20% of more.

*A coalition that tangled with the City Council over a 10 Commandments monument in a Boise park is putting its money where its mouth is here .

*2 men killed in crash near Pullman this morning here .

*4 in Idaho, Washington sickened by E.coli after eating packaged spinach here .

Orbusmax Special: Oregon minimum wage to rise to $7.80 per hour, second highest in nation here .